A US woman who shot and killed her husband and two adult children before taking her own life is thought to have committed the shocking crime as a result of being ostracised from the religion she was raised in.

A federal judge sentenced a former Arkansas judge Wednesday to five years in prison — a stiffer punishment than prosecutors recommended — after he admitted giving young male defendants lighter sentences in return for personal benefits that included sexual favours.

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In a 60 Minutes online exclusive, reporter Liz Hayes quizzed Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on his relationship with the unpredictable Twitter aficionado and US president Donald Trump ahead of their meeting at the White House Friday.

Recipients who prefer a more distant relationship with their donor simply do not have any power to reject such demands, she said.

"As far as [donors] are concerned, you're lucky and should be thankful that someone has actually approached you to donate."

Refusing a donor's offer, no matter the reason, can result in recipients being blacklisted.

Similarly, Rachael claimed women who hope to secure an egg via EDA cannot request their donor has physical traits that matched their own, such as hair or eye colour.

Are you a donor or recipient with a bad experience to share? Mail me in confidencemsaunoko@nine.com.au

Australia's Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act, which prohibits trading in human eggs, sperm and embryos, makes it illegal for donors to be paid.

However, thousands of dollars regularly changes hands between recipients and donors because of a clause that can be open to abuse.

Egg donors can bepaid "reasonable expenses" by recipients, which covers an array of items including doctor's visits, sick days, travel and parking.

Stephen Page, a leading surrogacy Australian lawyer, told Nine the intent of the law stopping cash payments for eggs is good, and it has been designed to avoid exploitation of donors.

But he warned the unregulatedenvironment it created, where donors were also in great demand, can put vulnerable Australian women at the mercy of "unscrupulous" people.

"What we have is a shortage of donors,” Page said.

"I've had clients who have told me they have been on a waiting list with a clinic in Queensland for four years, with no end in sight."

Page said clients had described ratios of 50 recipients to one donor on Australian online forums, which appears to be the most common way to find an egg in Australia.

Some people will naturally try and profit from that, Page said.

"I've been told by a number of clients where they have been asked for money,” he said.

"What we see with people who are childless and want to have children is that they are desperate."

Fearful of missing out, people will pay that sum.

Later on, with the donor process underway and fertility injections started, that can easily lead to further demands for cash, Page said.

Tasmanian woman Deborah de Williams said she had been forced to break into her superannuation in her years-long attempt to get pregnant.

Ms de Williams claimed one donor she met on EDA had suddenly demanded a $20,000 payment just one week before procedures were to begin at an IVF fertility clinic.

Deborah De Williams (left) meets then Prime Minister Julia Gillard at Parliament House in Canberra in 2011. Deborah was attempting a record breaking run around Australia to raise money for breast cancer research. (AAP)

"She said, 'I need $20,000 or I won't do it'."

Another donor she encountered on EDA had also pulled out at the last minute.

Except for one, all women spoke to Nine on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals; some were still seeking eggs, and expressed concerns they would be blacklisted.

Zoe*, a 41-year-old from Victoria, said EDA banned her for six months after she tried to discuss the merits of going overseas to a clinic to pay for an egg on the group's Facebook page.

Many of the women who spoke to Nine described travelling to donor clinics abroad because the process was hassle-free, compared to Australia.

"I expressed my opinion that it would be easier to go overseas and all hell broke loose. There was abuse from left, right and centre," Zoe said.

"My fertility specialist was very reluctant to send me out on the egg donor path because it is like the egg donor mafia is out there."

Australians who travel the globe - from Argentina to the US - to pay for eggs are given access to extensive donor profiles including childhood photos and health records.

Page said there was something "bizarre" about the idea that Australian couples should have to go overseas to have babies.

"Last year I was at a clinic in Cape Town, South Africa and they were saying there were 3-5 Australian couples coming in per business day," Page said.

"That shows the scale of the issue, there's a level of desperation."

The EDA forum in Australia urges hopeful recipients to be actively engaged on their digital platforms and to attend in-person meet-ups to maximise their chances of a donation.

Philippa*, a 46-year-old academic from Victoria, said she found fitting those demands into her busy daily routine "incredibly arduous".

"I found it a bit preposterous and really controlling," Philippa said.

"If somebody actually wants to donate that is a beautiful thing but I don't feel like I should do these online belly flips to get it happening.

"It can take over your life, doing the research, running an ad, liaising with all the different people involved."

In the end, Philippa said she purchased an egg and sperm from a US clinic for $20,000.

EDA founder Mel Holman said in a written statement that she did not wish to comment about specific claims made to Nine.

Ms Holman said she was happy with the way EDA was operated and the atmosphere in the group.

"We are a not for profit group, a community based on support education and awareness," she said.

"We have guidelines and rules for our members' behaviour out of courtesy and respect for others. Not everyone will agree with these."

Louise Johnson, chief executive of the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA), said current federal law protected the health and welfare of the child, and that was paramount.

"It is important that eggs are donated for the right reasons and I think an altruistic system of donation certainly supports that," Johnson said.

She said that a strong monetary inducement to donate eggs could be problematic.

In Australia, egg and sperm donors cannot choose to be anonymous. Donors are recorded on a register and those details are available to the child when they turn 18.

Those same laws do not always exist overseas and Johnson believed that was a concern for Australians visiting international clinics.

"We know of some couples and women who used anonymous donors in Europe and a few years down the track they feel awful that their child won't have access to information about their egg donor as they grow up," Johnson said.

Page agreed the legacy of anonymous international donors could "be very painful" for Australian children who want to know that information later.

But he said that a very good reason for Australian law makers to reconsider the legislation.

There seemed to be "no political will" in Australia to change the donor laws, he added.

Unless that changed, and politicians were motivated to debate the issues, Page predicted the ongoing supply and demand for egg donors in Australia would continue.

A National Health and Medical Research Council spokesperson told Nine it was not aware of any scheduled review of the law.